Those who stay behind... Part I

Posted on Wed Jan 26th, 2011 @ 9:54am by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & S'anra & Petty Officer 2nd Class Todd Sweeney

Mission: Hippocratic Hijacking
Location: Various
Timeline: A few hours after 'Out and About'

=Captain's Ready Room, USS Arizona=

Captain Nathan Cowell was still a bit tired after his ordeal in sickbay. The woman would live, though barely, and he would likely have more work ahead of him with the deadline for the ship's stint in orbit looming over their head. Contrary to the normal motif in his office, several PADDs were strewn about his desk as he made efforts to designate who would be staying behind and who would be coming along for the ride. One name kept coming back, that of their Romulan scientist 'hitchhiker', S'anra. Her expertise in bio-science was undeniable, even if her personal ethics and loyalties were a bit on the fuzzy side. It would boil down to whether her personal investment in the cargo could be overridden by some sense of duty toward those on the planet she might be able to save.

"Computer, locate Ms. S'anra for me," Nathan ordered.

"That individual is no longer aboard," came the terse reply from the female computer voice.

"Where did she go?" Cowell frowned.

"That individual was logged transporting to the planet surface four hours, seventeen minutes, seven seconds ago."

That's right! She'd been tasked out by the Science department to help with the setup of their surface labs by Lt. Beliard.

Tapping his commbadge, "Cowell to Sweeney, are you anywhere near Ms. S'anra right now?"

The stuffy and proper voice of his Yeoman answered back immediately, "Yes, Captain. She and I just finished getting the first few diagnostic devices up online. May I say, sir, that I never realized..."

"Mr. Sweeney..." Nathan growled, cutting him off.

"Uh, yes sir?" Todd's voice wavered at being cut off.

"Shut the hell up and tell her to get back on the ship, I need to talk to her," the Captain demanded impatiently.

"At once. Shall I escort her?" Todd offered.

'Fuck no!' was what he wanted to say, but he settled on the more diplomatic, "I'm sure they can use your skills down there more. Just pass the message along and carry on doing science stuff. Cowell out."

=Makeshift Science Lab, Braken Administrative District, Braken III=

Petty Officer Second Class Todd Sweeney shrugged as the link with the Arizona was cut off. While he was no scientist by any stretch, he was actually enjoying the chance to spread his wings a little and do more than simply fetch the boss a coffee. He walked over to S'anra, who he hadn't been in earshot of as he spoke to the Captain, and made his superior's wish known.

"Excuse me, Madam S'anra. Captain Cowell wanted me to pass along that he needed to speak with you urgently back on the ship," Todd said, cupping his hands in front of him in a pleading manner.

S'anra was about to make a remark about having better things to do or being busy or some such, however, she surmised 'following the Captain's orders' extended beyond just things he said directly. She finished hooking up their electron microscope, and then turned towards him, "Very well. Inform your ship they may beam me aboard."

Sweeney nodded and tapped his commbadge, "Sweeney to the Arizona, please transport Ms. S'anra to the ship."

"Acknowledged Mr. Sweeney, standby for transport," Chief Merriweather's voice called out from the comm.

It didn't take long before the figure of S'anra disappeared in a veil of blue-white light.

=Captain's Ready Room, USS Arizona=

S'anra had basically gotten used to her little escort service, as the guard took a spot to the side of the ready room door. It didn't really bother her, she was used to not being trusted. In the circles she usually did business in, nobody ever trusted anyone. So while her escort was a bit more unique in this setting, it really wasn't any different. She pressed the chime button.

Nathan threw the PADD he'd been reading against the desk, happy to be liberated form the headache of having to work out personnel issues even for a brief moment. He had a feeling it was S'anra waiting outside the door since he had just requested her presence, but who could know for sure?

"Come," the Captain said, triggering the door to his office to slid open, allowing the Romulan to walk freely into his office, "Ah, Ms. S'anra, do come in and have a seat."

S'anra stepped into the ready room, and considered for a moment, before deciding to take a seat this time. She looked noticeably better than last time they had met. "You asked to see me," she stated.

"Yes, I did. I'm not sure if anyone bothered to tell you or not, but we are going to be leaving this system in the morning. I wanted to talk to you about where you fit in all this. I understand you have a vested interest in the cargo we're going after, but the fact remains, you are the resident expert in bio-science here. You've already begun working with my people on this disease and so far I haven't heard anything that I don't like. That being said, I'd like to ask you if you would mind staying behind on the planet to head up the research project. This isn't to say I have no confidence in Mr. Beliard, but I want someone who has the knowledge to make the best decisions about how to proceed in finding the cure we're going to need. It may not be the glory job that reclaiming the cargo would be, but given the urgent need for this cure I feel your talents are better used down on the surface rather than with the ship. You can, of course, decline and that would be your choice. I told you I would let you fulfill whatever obligations you have to your wallet as long as you followed orders and pulled your weight and I'm a man of my word. It's up to you, kid," Nathan said in an unusually long-winded manner.

"My job... is to recover the medicine. If the irritating Ferengi learns that I've put any other priorities first, I will likely lose my pay," S'anra stated. The Ferengi was likely already considering excuses to cut her out of whatever pay he managed to scrape out of this bust of a job. "However," she continued, "I agree with your assessment, my skills would be better used on Braken. And people will die if a solution is not found for their condition." S'anra certainly wanted to get paid, but she would sacrifice her pay if it meant saving lives. Then again, if there was a way to ensure both occurred...

"Captain, if we refrain from telling Mister Grixx about this side trip, I will remain on the planet," S'anra stated. Not a lie, an omission, she told herself, even a Vulcan could appreciate that.

"Hell, if it were up to me I'd throw that bastard in a cold dark hole and divide his wealth among the masses, but keeping him in the dark about where you are is just as good. Consider your secret safe. I guess the only thing to do now is make sure people recognize your authority..." Nathan said before reaching over and retrieving a PADD he'd been working with. He quickly erased the manifest information it held, being that it was now useless anyway, and tapped out a quick authorization letter naming her as the temporary head of science operations on the planet.

"Here, for the time being, you're my new Chief Scientist. Do what you have to do and get those results," Cowell said, handing over the PADD.

S'anra nodded, and took the PADD. "Is that all, Captain Cowell?" S'anra asked. While the thought that she was now in some manner of chain of command did strike her, she shrugged it off. She'd had assistants back when she worked on Romulus, this was no different.

"No, that's all I had for you. Thanks for the assist," Nathan said, turning back to his paperwork.